– RING OF FIRE 20: PHOTOS & RECAP

Check out the full Ring of Fire 20: Elite gallery, up now! Just click on the Photo Gallery link and follow it to Ring of Fire 20.

This past Saturday, the Ring of Fire once again lit up the night near Denver, Colorado. Over the past five years, the promotion has grown in distinction from being the first sanctioned event in the state to being the premier mixed martial arts show in the region… and Ring of Fire 20, aptly titled Elite, was testimony to that fact.

The main event featured two of the fastest rising up-and-comers in the area. Fighting for the Ring of Fire Lightweight Championship, Luke Caudillo and Alvin Robinson were on a collision course throughout the year. In the end, the fight lasted only 1:33, but was action-packed. Robinson quickly took the fight to the ground, but it was Caudillo, a wrestler with a strong ground and pound game, who surprisingly clamped onto a solid arm bar attempt on Robinson, who is a Royce Gracie brown belt. Although the submission appeared to be locked on, Robinson remained calm and deftly maneuvered his escape resulting in the mount. In defense Caudillo gave up his back, but Robinson capitalized and sunk in a fight ending rear naked choke for the win and the belt.

In another title bout, for the welterweight strap, it was another fast paced fight. Thomas Schulte and Jay Jack were on the ground quickly. Before you could blink, Schulte was on Jack’s back. In an attempt to remove him, Jack stood and attempted to throw Schulte overhead, but Schulte remained attached and finished with a rear naked choke one second shy of the one minute mark in the first round.

Probably surprising to most fight fans outside of the Rocky Mountain region, Carlos Condit, fighting under K-1 kickboxing rules, took a unanimous decision from Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Pete Spratt. Although Spratt was aggressive and threw nearly everything he had at Condit, including jumping punches and spinning back kicks, he just couldn’t break through the reach advantage of the much taller fighter. Condit used his advantage well, consistently keeping Spratt at bay with a solid jab and effective knees.

Local favorite Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone won a hard earned decision over New Yorker Lamont Forin, also under K-1 kickboxing rules. Both fighters were standouts at the most recent K-1 tryouts, but it was Cerrone that held the advantage through most of the fight. He consistently beat Forin to the punch, but the fight was action-packed as the two traded shots for the duration.

In one of the most technical women’s fights that I have ever witnessed, Shayna Baszler knocked defending champion Amanda Buckner down with a strong kick to the leg, but Buckner quickly locked on a triangle choke as Baszler attempted to move into her guard and strike. The choke appeared tight, but Baszler worked her way out and got to Buckner’s back attempting a rear naked choke. Buckner defended once, Baszler then returned to the choke and Buckner defended a second time. She then moved into Baszler’s guard before being reversed. Baszler was attempting to implement a ground and pound attack as Buckner then secured an arm and finished the fight with a razor sharp arm bar that had Baszler tapping instantly. The fight lasted less than one round, 4:28 to be exact, but had the feel of an epic.

The earlier portion of the card didn’t disappoint either especially Chrisanne Roseliep’s dismantling of a very tough, very game Rosalind Olivas.

The names of the fighters at Ring of Fire 20 may not have carried the world-wide acclaim that you’d see on the latest pay-per-view offerings from the big boys, but the action and competitiveness that they brought to the ring was every bit as elite as the nearly 4,000 fans in attendance can attest to.

Check out the full Ring of Fire 20: Elite gallery, up now! Just click on the Photo Gallery link and follow it to Ring of Fire 20.